Retrospective Toy Reviews

[Tha_Phantom]

surprisingly Omegatron's gimmick still works flawlessly.

It wasn't working when I got it. Had to take it apart, but thankfully the issue was simply that the motor had siezed up. All I had to do was spin it by hand a bit and it was working fine after that.

Glad that this thread exists. I shall post a retrospective review of the G1 deco Universe Spychangers when I get the last couple I need.

[GoktimusPrime]

OVERDRIVE / WINDCHARGER
Series - Binaltech / Alternators
Size/class - 1:24 scale
New/remould/redeco - new / retool of BT Overdrive in plastic
Wave - 11 / 8
Released here - No / Yes
Year of Release - 2005 / 2005
Approximate Retail Price - 5000JPY / $45
Approximate Size - 18cm (robot H), 17cm (car L)
Allegiance - Cybertron / Autobot
Alt-mode - Honda S2000
Main Features/Gimmicks - high detailed vehicle mode, front wheel steering
Main Colours - red & black
Main Accessories - engine-rifle, roof-shield / engine-shield, roof-shield

Special thanks to 1AZRAEL1 for allowing me to compare his Alternators Windcharger with my Binaltech Overdrive

One physical difference between BT Overdrive and ALT Windcharger is obviously that Overdrive has die-cast metal panels whereas Windcharger is entirely plastic; save for the tyres which are rubber on both toys. Both toys are coloured in the same shade of red, although for some reason, Overdrive's red looks a bit pinkish on some of my photos of the car mode. But you can see that it's the same red in the side-by-side robot mode shot; and in hand they are the same red. So with that in mind, let us proceed...

Car mode

IMO the biggest advantage of die-cast metal is definitely the look of the car mode. Windcharger does a pretty good job in making its plastic look as close as possible to the metal version; a much better job than the super-obvious plastic looking Alternators Smokescreen (blech), but Windcharger's red plastic is a pretty close approximation. But ultimately, it doesn't beat the look of actual metal with that gorgeous reflective sheen like a proper model car. Windcharger also has clearer plastic on the headlights and tail light coverings than Overdrive.

Under the bonnet

You can see how the light goes right through Windcharger's plastic bonnet, whereas Overdrive's solid metal bonnet is completely opaque. Otherwise, both toys have identical looking engines.

Inside the car

Pretty much the same thing, although Windcharger's innards are mirror flipped from Overdrive's. Overdrive's controls are configured for driving on the left side of the road, whereas Windcharger is configured for driving on the right. Unfortunately, Windcharger's steering wheel is made of really soft rubber instead of solid plastic like Overdrive's; and as such, seems to be prone to deformity. This Alternators Windcharger was opened from being MISB for the purposes of this comparison, and the steering wheel was warped straight out of packaging; whereas my BT Overdrive was opened back in 2005 and has been transformed and played with scores of times, and yet the steering wheel is unwarped. The steering wheel on my BT Prowl is warped too, but it's not on my BT Blue Prowl or Alternators Prowl; and all of those Prowl's steering wheels have the same rubbery steering wheels; so luck seems to also play a factor. But obviously solid plastic isn't going to deform like rubber.

Vehicle rears


Both toys have different number plates. Overdrive's reading "OVRDRV" and Windcharger's reading "WNDCGR." You can see more clearly in this photo the difference in transparency on the tail light covers.

Vehicles with doors and panels open


Undersides

Unfortunately, Hasbro removed the drive shaft on Windcharger. This is due to Honda USA objecting to one of their vehicles having a gun; although they would change their minds about this two years later, as Alternators Rumble comes with two guns (which funnily enough, was never released in BT).

Car mode with roof up


IMO the sculpting details look sharper on Overdrive; especially the door handles.

Robot mode

Yay, the pinkishness from Overdrive is gone; this is actually how Overdrive looks like IRL. Both toys look super similar, but you will notice the metallic sheen on Overdrive vs the plastic sheen on Windcharger.

Head on!

This toy is obviously meant to be Overdrive; and you can see that Overdrive's visor has the same iconic downward pointed tip as G1 Overdrive. Hasbro renamed this toy "Windcharger" as they had lost the rights to the Overdrive trademark (although given that we've had no new Overdrive toys since BT, odds are that the name may still be lost?). Hasbro has given Windcharger a new visor to make it look less like Overdrive, although it doesn't look like Windcharger either.

Comparison with G1

As mentioned before, Windcharger's engine accessory lacks the drive shaft which forms the rifle barrel on Overdrive's weapon. Hasbro has officially designated Windcharger's engine accessory as a "shield," meaning that he actually has two shields and no guns. Thanks, Honda USA.

Copyright stamps

There's no difference.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I generally prefer Binaltechs over Alternators, and Overdrive is no exception. For the same price, I might as well get the die-cast metal version with the rifle barrel over a plastic version with no guns. Having said that, the lack of gun barrel isn't Hasbro's fault, and Hasbro have really done a top job in making the plastic look as metallic as possible. Both feel like premium toys; it's just that the Alternators would've been nicer if they were cheaper. And Alternators did become cheaper at the tail end with figures like Alternators Rodimus and Optimus Prime selling for $25 at Kmart. But Windcharger was one of the earlier waves of Alternators that sold for about the same price as Overdrive. As far as aftermarket prices go, Alternators haven't appreciated much; you can get one MISB for $50 these days. Whereas a cursory look for BT Overdrive on evil-Bay shows that they're going for silly prices there; so I would say that currently Windcharger offers far superior value over a Binaltech Overprice.

[KELPIE]

The Alternators/Binaltech really were amazing.

I got exhausted by the reuse of moulds and strict adherence to licensed cars.. however that's kinda what the line was all about.

Good review mate.

Now time for a modern Overdrive (or all Omnibots please).